Mobile Device with Unified Media-Centric User Interface

ABSTRACT

A mobile device with a unified media-centric user interface is provided. In one embodiment, the user interface contains one or more of the following features: a unified view of the home screen, navigating between various storage locations, dragging items to collection/folder, pinch and zoom feature, stats shown for each file type, storage usage view from the app, manual and automatic backup, and magic move (keeping a low-resolution version of the original files while moving). Other embodiments are possible, and each of the embodiments can be used alone or together in combination.

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to India Patent Application No.201641021755, filed on Jun. 24, 2016, entitled “Mobile Device withUnified Media-Centric User Interface,” the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Some mobile devices, such as Android smartphones, allow users to savetheir content in multiple storage locations, such as internal memory, aremovable memory card (e.g., a microSD cards), an external storagedevice (e.g., on-the-go (OTG) dual USB drives), and in various cloudservices (e.g., Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, One Drive, etc.). Whencontent is spread across multiple locations, users can easily lose trackof their content as they do not get a holistic view of how and wheretheir content is distributed. Also, there is no easy way to move contentbetween these storage end-points. Some mobile device user interfaces arelimited to a basic file folder view, which makes navigation betweendifferent locations on a mobile user interface complex and frustratingfor users. Additionally, the native gallery app on some mobile devicesmay provide a unified view of the internal and external storage (e.g.,microSD) devices but does not offer a view into cloud and OTG drives

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a mobile device of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a storage device of an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment that is performedwhen a new storage location is added.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment for a unifiedmedia-centric backend logic.

FIGS. 5-15 are screen shots of a unified media-centric user interface ofan embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment for pinch and zoomfeatures.

FIGS. 17-20 are screen shots of a unified media-centric user interfaceof an embodiment that illustrate the use of pinch and zoom features.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment for backend logicto show statistics.

FIGS. 22-23 are screen shots that illustrate the embodiment of FIG. 21.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment for implementing astorage usage view.

FIGS. 25-27 are screen shots that illustrate the embodiment of FIG. 24.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment for magic move.

FIG. 29 is a screen shot of an embodiment for magic move.

FIG. 30 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment for auto backupsettings.

FIG. 31 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment for manual andautomatic backup processes.

FIGS. 32-36 are screen shots that illustrate an automatic backupprocess.

FIGS. 37-40 are screen shots that illustrate a manual backup process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

By way of introduction, the below embodiments relate to a mobile devicewith a unified media-centric user interface. In one embodiment, the userinterface contains one or more of the following features: a unified viewof the home screen, navigating between various storage locations,dragging items to collection/folder, pinch and zoom feature, stats shownfor each file type, storage usage view from the app, manual andautomatic backup, and magic move (keeping a low-resolution version ofthe original files while moving). Other embodiments are possible, andeach of the embodiments can be used alone or together in combination.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is an illustration of a mobiledevice 100 of an embodiment. The mobile device 100 can take any suitableform, such as, but not limited to, a smart phone (e.g., an Apple iPhone,an Android phone), a tablet (e.g., an Apple iPad), a “phablet,” a bookreader (e.g., an Amazon Kindle), a digital media player (e.g., an iPod),a game device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop, a wearablecomputer (e.g., a smart watch or Google Glasses), and any other mobiledevice where access to additional memory may be desired. As shown inFIG. 1, the mobile device 100 in this embodiment comprises a controller120 that runs an operating system 124 that runs one or more applications(e.g., computer-readable program code executable by the controller 120)(such as an app 125 with a unified user interface) that communicate witha common operating system database 129, a battery 140, and a port 150for a power/data JO connector, a port 160 for a removable memory card, awireless interface 170, and a touch-sensitive display 180. The mobiledevice 100 can contain different or additional components, which are notshown in FIG. 1 to simplify the drawing. For example, if the mobiledevice 100 is a mobile smart phone, the mobile device 100 can includehardware and/or software components to make and place telephone calls.The mobile device 100 can also have a camera, a media player, etc. Ofcourse, these are just some examples, and other implementations can beused.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile device 100 has a memory 130, which canstore content. Content can take any form, including, but not limited to,photos, videos, music, and data attachments. In addition to the internalmemory 130, content can be stored on a removable memory device (e.g., amicroSD cards) inserted into the removable memory card connector port160, an external storage device (e.g., on-the-go (OTG) dual USB drives)connected through the data JO connector port 150, and in various cloudservices (e.g., Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, One Drive, etc.) incommunication with the mobile device 100 via the wireless interface 170.Any suitable wireless technology, now existing or later developed, canbe used, including, but not limited to, 802.11 WiFi, near-fieldcommunication (NFC), Bluetooth (including Bluetooth Low Energy (LE),Nike+, ANT, ANT+, ZigBee, Radio Frequency for Consumer Electronics(RF4CE), and Infrared Data Association (IrDA).

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a storage device 200 of an embodiment. Thisgeneral diagram can describe a removable memory card, an externalstorage device, or a cloud-based storage device. Of course, different orother components specific to the type of device can be used. As shown inFIG. 2, the storage device 200 in one embodiment contains a controller210 and non-volatile memory 220. In this embodiment, the controller 210comprises a host interface 212 for placing the storage device 200 incommunication with the mobile device 100, and a memory interface 211 forplacing the controller 210 in communication with the memory 220. (Asused herein, the phrase “in communication with” (or “operatively incommunication with”) could mean directly in communication with orindirectly in communication with through one or more components, whichmay or may not be shown or described herein.) The host interface 212 cantake any suitable form, such as, but are not limited to, a SATA, SATAExpress, SAS, Fibre Channel, USB, PCIe, and NVMe interface. The memoryinterface 211 can also take any suitable form, such as, but not limitedto, a flash interface (e.g., Toggle Mode 200, 400, or 800).

The controller 210 also comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 213,an optional hardware crypto-engine 214 operative to provide encryptionand/or decryption operations, read access memory (RAM) 215, read onlymemory (ROM) 216 which can store firmware for the basic operations ofthe storage device 240 and an application program interface, and anon-volatile memory (NVM) 217 which can store a device-specific key usedfor encryption/decryption operations, when used. The controller 210 canbe implemented in any suitable manner. For example, the controller 210can take the form of a microprocessor or processor and acomputer-readable medium that stores computer-readable program code(e.g., software or firmware) executable by the (micro)processor, logicgates, switches, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aprogrammable logic controller, and an embedded microcontroller, forexample. Suitable controllers can be obtained from SanDisk or othervendors. Also, some of the components shown as being internal to thecontroller 210 can also be stored external to the controller 210, andother components can be used. For example, the RAM 215 (or an additionalRAM unit) can be located outside of the controller die and used as apage buffer for data read from and/or to be written to the memory 220.

The non-volatile memory 220 can also take any suitable form, as can theinternal memory 130. For example, in one embodiment, a memory takes theform of a solid-state (e.g., flash) memory and can be one-timeprogrammable, few-time programmable, or many-time programmable. Thememory can also use single-level cell (SLC) or multiple-level cell(MLC). The memory can take the form of NAND Flash memory or of othermemory technologies, now known or later developed.

In one embodiment, the app 125 provides a unified media-centric userinterface to view and to backup content on a mobile device, microSDCard, on-the-go drive, and/or cloud storage services. As discussedabove, Android users can save their content in multiple storagelocations, such as internal memory, microSD cards (external), Dual USBdrives (OTG), and in various cloud services (like Dropbox, Box, GoogleDrive, One drive etc.). When content is spread across multiplelocations, users can easily lose track of their content as they do notget a holistic view of how/where their content is distributed. There isalso no easy way to move the content between these storage end-pointsusing a single application. The following embodiments provide a userinterface that can be used to help solve these problems by providing aunified view of all storage locations and automatically categorizinguser content into photos, videos, music, and documents, for example.This new interface allows users to understand and manage their storagebetter and also move content between phone, card, and cloud easily.Moreover, the app also allows users to backup content to the cloud or tothe card based on user preference. This provides advantage over othersolutions. For example, some other solutions that are currentlyavailable to consumers do not follow a media centric/unified view andare often limited to a basic file folder view. This makes navigationbetween different locations on a mobile user interface complex andfrustrating for users. Also, some native Gallery apps offer a unifiedview of the internal and external storage (microSD) but do not offer aview of cloud and OTG drives. Other solutions do not offer backup basedon user preferences to the card, cloud, and OTG drives.

In one embodiment, using the unified media centric user interface of thenew memory zone app allows files from various memory sources to beindexed and classified into different file types and shown under asingle common user interface. Users can easily toggle between photos,videos, music, and other file types and can also view files from all thestorage end points in this unified user interface. The backup flowillustrates in detail the process a user would follow to set up his/herpreference while backing up their phone content to various storageend-points.

In one embodiment, a unified view of the home screen is provided. Inthis embodiment, files from various memory sources are indexed andclassified into different file types and shown under a single commonuser interface. This makes it easier to navigate between various filetypes such as photos, videos, music, and documents. As such, it is verysimple for a non-technical user to use the app.

In another embodiment, the app allows navigating between various storagelocations. As shown in the figures, the Navigation drawer will house asecondary option of “Storage Locations”. Hardware and cloud accounts canbe available in the storage location tab bar. The tab bar can show allthe active hardware and authenticated cloud accounts first,respectively. Following this, the tab bar can show any inactive hardware(hardware that user does not have) and cloud accounts that are notlogged in. These will show empty state, as shown in the drawings.Hardware can be listed with SD card first, and then dual drive. Cloudaccounts can be listed alphabetically.

In another embodiment, the app allows dragging items to acollection/folder. Multiselecting allows the user to drag the files to aparticular collection or folder. As the user starts dragging, selectedfiles can animate and become grouped together into a stack in differentways depending on if it is in file type view or in storage view asexplained below.

For a file type: The stack can duplicate above the selected items, asthey will not live in their respective file type tab.

For a storage location: The stack can form and leave empty spaces wherethe selected files were. After the files are dropped into the folder,the remaining files in the view can reorganize to take up the emptyspaces.

In another embodiment, the app provides a pinch and zoom feature. Thisfeature allows a user to see photos in month wise and year wise. Onzooming, the user can see photos in a 2 column layout from 4 columnview, similarly from Yearly view to Monthly view to Daily view. With apinch to monthly view, the first pinch (zoom out) allows user to seephotos month wise. Now tapping in/Zooming in goes to daily view. With apinch again to yearly view, the second pinch (zooming out) gives ayearly view of photos. One of the drawings shows a 12 column grid view.The user can tap once or zoom out to go back to the Month view and thento Daily view. So, zooming out results in a daily view to a monthly viewor a yearly view, and zooming in results in a yearly view to a monthlyview to a daily view.

In another embodiment, the app shows stats for each file type. In thisembodiment, the total number of files from each memory location areshown along with the particular storage icons on top of the list view orgrid view.

In another embodiment, there is a storage usage view from the app. Thisview will show a list of all storage locations that the user has, withcurrent storage usage. Tapping on each storage item in the list willshow the data for each of the individual storage accounts, including thenumber and amount of storage space used for each file type.

In another embodiment, the app provides manual and automatic backup.Users can backup his/her phone contents to various destinations such asmicro SD card, Dual drive and the authenticated cloud storage accounts.The user can either do manual backup or setup automatic backup. The usercan select the file types such as photos, videos, music, etc that can bebacked up to a particular storage location. The user can also configurewhen the backup can happen by choosing the day and the time in thesettings.

In another embodiment, the app provides a magic move, in which the appkeeps the low-resolution version of the original files while moving. Inthis embodiment, the app can create low-resolution images/videos beforemoving files from Internal memory to Dual drive. The original file willbe moved from the Internal Memory/micro SD card to Dual drive and createlow-resolution images/videos in the same source memory location wherethe original file was there. There are several advantages of have alow-resolution file. For example, the user can view or browse the filesin his/her phone when the dual drive is not connected. Also, this freesup space in the internal memory or micro SD card as the low-resolutionimages/videos will occupy only less space in the memory.

There are many advantages associated with these embodiments. Forexample, these embodiments can help users organize their contents fromvarious memory sources and can view all files in one common centricmedia user interface. The embodiments also make it easy for user to domemory management of various memory sources either it can be a localstorage or cloud storage. Additionally, since all files from all memorysources are sorted, it is easier for the user to find a particular photoor video. Further these embodiments allow users to backup their phonecontent to cloud, microSD card or USB drive easily.

These embodiments are further illustrated in the attached drawings.

Finally, as mentioned above, any suitable type of memory can be used.Semiconductor storage devices include volatile storage devices, such asdynamic random access memory (“DRAM”) or static random access memory(“SRAM”) devices, non-volatile storage devices, such as resistive randomaccess memory (“ReRAM”), electrically erasable programmable read onlymemory (“EEPROM”), flash memory (which can also be considered a subsetof EEPROM), ferroelectric random access memory (“FRAM”), andmagnetoresistive random access memory (“MRAM”), and other semiconductorelements capable of storing information. Each type of storage device mayhave different configurations. For example, flash storage devices may beconfigured in a NAND or a NOR configuration.

The storage devices can be formed from passive and/or active elements,in any combinations. By way of non-limiting example, passivesemiconductor memory elements include ReRAM device elements, which insome embodiments include a resistivity switching storage element, suchas an anti-fuse, phase change material, etc., and optionally a steeringelement, such as a diode, etc. Further by way of non-limiting example,active semiconductor memory elements include EEPROM and flash storagedevice elements, which in some embodiments include elements containing acharge storage region, such as a floating gate, conductivenanoparticles, or a charge storage dielectric material.

Multiple memory elements may be configured so that they are connected inseries or so that each element is individually accessible. By way ofnon-limiting example, flash storage devices in a NAND configuration(NAND memory) typically contain memory elements connected in series. ANAND memory array may be configured so that the array is composed ofmultiple strings of memory in which a string is composed of multiplememory elements sharing a single bit line and accessed as a group.Alternatively, memory elements may be configured so that each element isindividually accessible, e.g., a NOR memory array. NAND and NOR memoryconfigurations are exemplary, and memory elements may be otherwiseconfigured.

The semiconductor memory elements located within and/or over a substratemay be arranged in two or three dimensions, such as a two dimensionalmemory structure or a three dimensional memory structure.

In a two dimensional memory structure, the semiconductor memory elementsare arranged in a single plane or a single storage device level.Typically, in a two dimensional memory structure, memory elements arearranged in a plane (e.g., in an x-z direction plane) which extendssubstantially parallel to a major surface of a substrate that supportsthe memory elements. The substrate may be a wafer over or in which thelayer of the memory elements are formed or it may be a carrier substratewhich is attached to the memory elements after they are formed. As anon-limiting example, the substrate may include a semiconductor such assilicon.

The memory elements may be arranged in the single storage device levelin an ordered array, such as in a plurality of rows and/or columns.However, the memory elements may be arrayed in non-regular ornon-orthogonal configurations. The memory elements may each have two ormore electrodes or contact lines, such as bit lines and word lines.

A three dimensional memory array is arranged so that memory elementsoccupy multiple planes or multiple storage device levels, therebyforming a structure in three dimensions (i.e., in the x, y and zdirections, where the y direction is substantially perpendicular and thex and z directions are substantially parallel to the major surface ofthe substrate).

As a non-limiting example, a three dimensional memory structure may bevertically arranged as a stack of multiple two dimensional storagedevice levels. As another non-limiting example, a three dimensionalmemory array may be arranged as multiple vertical columns (e.g., columnsextending substantially perpendicular to the major surface of thesubstrate, i.e., in the y direction) with each column having multiplememory elements in each column. The columns may be arranged in a twodimensional configuration, e.g., in an x-z plane, resulting in a threedimensional arrangement of memory elements with elements on multiplevertically stacked memory planes. Other configurations of memoryelements in three dimensions can also constitute a three dimensionalmemory array.

By way of non-limiting example, in a three dimensional NAND memoryarray, the memory elements may be coupled together to form a NAND stringwithin a single horizontal (e.g., x-z) storage device levels.Alternatively, the memory elements may be coupled together to form avertical NAND string that traverses across multiple horizontal storagedevice levels. Other three dimensional configurations can be envisionedwherein some NAND strings contain memory elements in a single memorylevel while other strings contain memory elements which span throughmultiple memory levels. Three dimensional memory arrays may also bedesigned in a NOR configuration and in a ReRAM configuration.

Typically, in a monolithic three dimensional memory array, one or morestorage device levels are formed above a single substrate. Optionally,the monolithic three dimensional memory array may also have one or morememory layers at least partially within the single substrate. As anon-limiting example, the substrate may include a semiconductor such assilicon. In a monolithic three dimensional array, the layersconstituting each storage device level of the array are typically formedon the layers of the underlying storage device levels of the array.However, layers of adjacent storage device levels of a monolithic threedimensional memory array may be shared or have intervening layersbetween storage device levels.

Then again, two dimensional arrays may be formed separately and thenpackaged together to form a non-monolithic storage device havingmultiple layers of memory. For example, non-monolithic stacked memoriescan be constructed by forming memory levels on separate substrates andthen stacking the memory levels atop each other. The substrates may bethinned or removed from the storage device levels before stacking, butas the storage device levels are initially formed over separatesubstrates, the resulting memory arrays are not monolithic threedimensional memory arrays. Further, multiple two dimensional memoryarrays or three dimensional memory arrays (monolithic or non-monolithic)may be formed on separate chips and then packaged together to form astacked-chip storage device.

Associated circuitry is typically required for operation of the memoryelements and for communication with the memory elements. As non-limitingexamples, storage devices may have circuitry used for controlling anddriving memory elements to accomplish functions such as programming andreading. This associated circuitry may be on the same substrate as thememory elements and/or on a separate substrate. For example, acontroller for memory read-write operations may be located on a separatecontroller chip and/or on the same substrate as the memory elements.

One of skill in the art will recognize that this invention is notlimited to the two dimensional and three dimensional exemplarystructures described but cover all relevant memory structures within thespirit and scope of the invention as described herein and as understoodby one of skill in the art.

It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be understood asan illustration of selected forms that the invention can take and not asa definition of the invention. It is only the following claims,including all equivalents, that are intended to define the scope of theclaimed invention. Finally, it should be noted that any aspect of any ofthe preferred embodiments described herein can be used alone or incombination with one another.

1. A mobile device comprising: a display device; and a controller incommunication with the display device and a plurality of storagedevices, wherein the controller is configured to: categorize filesstored in the plurality of storage devices into different file types;display, on the display device, a plurality of user-selectable regions,wherein each user-selectable region is associated with a different filetype; receive a user selection of one of the user-selectable regions;display representations of at least some files of the file typeassociated with the received user selection, wherein each representationincludes an indication of which storage device stores a file representedby the representation; and display a plurality of indicia on the displaydevice, each indicia representing one of the plurality of storagedevices and indicating how many files are stored in that storage deviceof the file type associated with the received user selection.
 2. Themobile device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of storage devicesinclude one or more of the following: a memory internal to the mobiledevice, a removable memory device, an external storage device, and acloud-based storage device.
 3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to categorize the files and display theplurality of indicia by executing an app application.
 4. (canceled) 5.The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to provide a pinch and zoom feature.
 6. The mobile device ofclaim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: receive a userselection of one of the plurality of storage devices; and display filesstored in the selected one of the plurality of storage devices.
 7. Themobile device of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configuredto: receive a user selection of a plurality of files from the selectedone of the plurality of storage devices; and receive an input from auser as to which storage device the selected plurality of files are tobe moved to.
 8. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: responsive to a selected file is being an imagebeing moved from internal memory in the mobile device to another storagedevice, create a lower-resolution version of the image for storage inthe internal memory.
 9. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is further configured to provide storage statistics for eachof the storage devices.
 10. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is further configured to backup selected files to a selectedstorage device.
 11. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein at least oneof the plurality of storage devices comprises a three-dimensionalmemory.
 12. A method comprising: performing the following in a mobiledevice comprising a display device: displaying, on the display device, aplurality of user-selectable regions, wherein each user-selectableregion is associated with a different file type; receiving a userselection of a user-selectable region that is associated with an imagefile type; displaying, on the display device, a view of imagesassociated with the user-selected region, wherein the images are storedon a plurality of storage devices; displaying, on the display device,information about how many images are stored on each of the plurality ofstorage devices, wherein at least one image is stored in an internalmemory of the mobile device; and creating a lower-resolution version ofthe at least one image for storage in the internal memory of the mobiledevice responsive to a user requesting that the at least one image bemoved from the internal memory of the mobile device to any other one ofthe plurality of storage devices.
 13. The method of claim 12, whereinthe plurality of storage devices include one or more of the following: amemory internal to the mobile device, a removable memory device, anexternal storage device, and a cloud-based storage device.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the method is performed by an applicationrunning on the mobile device.
 15. (canceled)
 16. The method of claim 12further comprising providing a pinch and zoom feature.
 17. The method ofclaim 12 further comprising backing up selected images to a selectedstorage device.
 18. A mobile device comprising: a display device; meansfor categorizing files stored in a plurality of storage devices intodifferent file types; means for displaying, on the display device, aplurality of user-selectable regions, wherein each user-selectableregion is associated with a different file type; means for receiving auser selection of one of the user-selectable regions; means fordisplaying representations of at least some files of the file typeassociated with the received user selection, wherein each representationincludes an indication of which storage device stores a file representedby the representation; and means for displaying a plurality of indiciaon the display device, each indicia representing one of the plurality ofstorage devices and indicating how many files are stored in that storagedevice of the file type associated with the received user selection. 19.The mobile device of claim 18, wherein at least one of the meanscomprises computer readable program code executed by a processor. 20.The mobile device of claim 18, wherein at least one of the plurality ofstorage devices comprises a three-dimensional memory.